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Published March 2008

Luring visitors to county
Tourism Bureau: Convention facilities, Winter Olympics
offer new opportunities for industry growth

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

Snohomish County's tourism industry pulled in strong numbers in 2007, with hotel/motel occupancy tops in the state and traffic at visitor information centers up as well.

But at Snohomish County Tourism Bureau headquarters, there's no time to celebrate.

Snohomish County Business Journal/
KIMBERLY HILDEN
Amy Spain (left), executive director of the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau, and Tracy Banfield, group sales and media manager for the bureau, are among a staff of seven charged with marketing the area to business and leisure travelers around the region, nation and globe.

With Skate America expected to draw millions of television viewers and thousands of people to the Comcast Arena at Everett Events Center in October - and the 2010 Winter Olympics in British Columbia on the not-too-distant horizon - the agency responsible for promoting Snohomish County is busy marketing the facilities and attractions the area has to offer the corporate and leisure travel markets.

It's a responsibility that includes managing four visitor information centers and advertising the county in publications regional, national and international in scope. It involves drumming up interest and answering the questions of media from around the world. It's attending travel trade shows and coordinating with event planners and organizations to book conventions, sporting activities and other events. It is publishing literature about the county's own events and sites.

All those jobs and more are accomplished by a staff of seven and more than 100 volunteers, said Amy Spain, the bureau's executive director.

"In 2007, the tourism bureau was directly responsible for over 11,000 (lodging) room nights and $14 million in economic impact," Spain said.

Who's visiting?
Tourism is big business in Snohomish County. According to the Washington state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, the county ranked third in the state (behind Pierce and King counties) in visitor spending in 2006, the latest year with total annual numbers.

According to the state report released in October, visitors to the county spent $823.4 million, generating 9,260 jobs with a payroll of $192.2 million, local taxes totaling $13.7 million and state taxes worth $47 million.

In 2007, the county finished the year with an annual hotel/motel occupancy rate of 72 percent, ahead of King County, which averaged 71.5 percent, according to Smith Travel Research Inc.

Visitor information centers also saw a jump in activity last year, with centers in Lynnwood, Arlington and Snohomish attracting nearly 14,500 visitors, up from 11,000 in 2006, Spain said.

Much of the tourism market is made up of business travelers, Spain said, fueled by the success of Boeing's 787 and its suppliers. Construction, too, has contributed to hotel stays as construction crews choose to lodge near their projects.

"When Alderwood mall was going through its major construction (in 2004), Lynnwood hotels gained in occupancy," Spain said.

The county's growing convention market has been a factor as well. In the past five years, Snohomish County has added thousands of square feet of meeting and convention space with the opening of the Comcast Arena at Everett Events Center, Lynnwood Convention Center and Future of Flight Aviation Center.

"We used to be very limited in the convention market," said Tracy Banfield, convention sales and media manager for the bureau. "When the event center opened in Everett in 2003, followed by the Lynnwood Convention Center, it just gave us an opportunity to work with the bigger conventions."

Working with convention sales, Banfield often is the first point of contact for businesses and trade groups looking to hold an event in the county.

"We can tackle all of their event details and talk with them about all of their options. They'll let me know what they're interested in. We try to find as much match as we can and then send out information to facilities in the area," she said. "They can send back their information to the client or me, depending on what clients prefer."

Banfield also organizes and participates in regular "sales blitzes" with other members of the hospitality community, in which they make presentations to tourism and hospitality industry organizations in feeder markets such as Olympia, Spokane and Portland, Ore.

Selling points often include not only facilities and their amenities but also cost savings when compared to lodging in neighboring King County.

According to Smith Travel Research, the average overnight rate for rooms in Snohomish County in 2007 was $86.92, a significant 47 percent less than King County's $128.06 rate.

Then there's the cost of parking and sales tax, Banfield said. "Prices are less here across the board."

"Lynnwood leads the county in average rates partly because of their product; Embassy Suites, Residence Inn, as examples, have more services. They also lead in occupancy for the county in large part because they are closer to the Seattle market," Spain added. "As Seattle's market strengthens, so does the effect in south Snohomish County."

Neighbors to the north also have contributed to local tourism, with Canadians enjoying the benefits of a weaker U.S. dollar. Spain noted the steady increase in Canadian tourists since their dollar has gained ground against the U.S. greenback, recently reaching parity for the first time in years.

But she said it's not just about the dollar, with Canadian visitors enjoying the variety of goods and services offered in U.S. markets.

"Seattle Premium Outlets - close to 60 percent of their revenues are coming from Canada," Spain said.

Standing in the world spotlight
While business travel continues to sustain the county's tourism industry, two events of international stature soon will cast Snohomish County and the Pacific Northwest into the world spotlight - and hopefully lead to increased tourism as well: 2008 Skate America in Everett and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Taking place Oct. 24 through 26, with Fan Fest and practice beginning Oct. 23, Skate America is an international ice-skating competition being produced by locally based Production Sports that is expected to attract more than 60 world-class figure skaters to the area.

Earlier news reports have estimated that the event will bring thousands of visitors to the county and produce as much as $2.6 million in local tax revenue. Athletes will stay at the Tulalip Resort Casino, whose 12-story, multi-star luxury hotel is expected to open this summer.

"There will be 40,000 tickets available for (Skate America), which will include two shows a day for three days. That's a lot of people who will potentially come to Snohomish County," Spain said. "All of the hotels are going to benefit from that."

As for media coverage, more than 100 international print journalists and foreign TV networks are expected to cover the event, which will be broadcast by NBC.

The Tourism Bureau's involvement in the event includes being a community partner and having Tammy Dunn, the bureau's sports marketing and group sales manager, on the steering committee.

Dunn and Spain also are active in SnoGold 2010, a county-organized group whose mission is to be a resource for increasing business and tourism opportunities surrounding the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics - and beyond.

According to the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, between 140,000 to 190,000 visitors from outside British Columbia are expected to the area during the Olympic Winter Games.

Of those, the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) for the games estimates that 55 percent could come from the United States, with 40 percent traveling through the Pacific Northwest. Additionally, 30 percent of overseas visitors to British Columbia also could stop in the Pacific Northwest.

"There's a huge potential of this influx during a time that's traditionally slow for us, so it's a great time for us," said Spain, who is co-chair of SnoGold's tourism subcommittee.

VANOC also has said it expects an increase in visitors to British Columbia during the five-year period surrounding the games, from 2008 to 2012.

Past experience with the Olympics proves this out.

During the Tourism Bureau's quarterly tourism forum in December, Ray LeBlond of Tourism B.C. said the Canadian tourism industry gained a noticeable boost after such events as the 1986 Exposition and the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, Spain said.

"There was a jump in tourism in Calgary that has never gone back to pre-Olympic numbers," she said. "� The biggest potential impact of the 2010 Olympics is going forward, the legacy of the 2010 Olympics."

For more information on the Tourism Bureau, go online to www.snohomish.org.

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